Tough Love?

[diane silver]

Emma is now 4 years old and has always been a very finicky eater.  I admit that since I make homemade chicken jerky, I think she's relying on that for her hunger.  However, I'm trying to institute "tough love," and she really hasn't eaten for two days!  I know that everyone says that eventually she'll be hungry and eat, but I worry that she'll throw up yellow bile (which she does often when she has an empty stomach).  I think I've tried every food, wet or dry, on the market, added cheese, broth, chicken, etc., etc., and still she will walk over to her bowl, look at the food, and walk away.  Do you think that I should just leave the food down and that she'll finally get hungry enough to eat it?  I'm really at the end of my rope; I've thrown away so much food and I feel horrible that I'm not giving her the jerky or anything else but don't know what to do!!  Help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Diane, I replied to your other discussion and I do think she will eventually eat when she gets hungry enough. I would continue to withhold all treats, jerky, etc., and only offer her regular food at her regular mealtimes, as long as she is drinking water and seems otherwise healthy.
What kind of dog food is she currently getting?

[BG and Gavin]

Hi Diane!  I have a dog that sounds similar to yours.  He is not much of a foody and I have to get him to eat to avoid the bile barf.  For him exercise is key.  If he is not getting a good deal of exercise he will not eat.  In fact exercise before eating is his rule.  Not sure how that applies to your situation but I would suggest if she has not eaten in two days to take her for a good walk and maybe set her loose in the park to chase tennis balls so she can work up an appetite.  I would feed twice a day and put the food down for 15 minutes and if it is not eaten take it up until the next feeding time.  I have heard that this teaches the dog to "get while the gettin's good."  I confess to doing toppers which works out ok for us.  Also I will sometimes give Gavin a little tasty treat as an appetizer.  One slice of sweet potato gets him in the mood to eat lol.  Good luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's a discussion that may interest you, about switching foods, adding toppings, and other things we do to try to entice a dog to eat, and why you shouldn't do it. Pay particular attention to Adina's comments about brownies:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/an-ode-...

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I remember Adina's Brownies  :)   Good one.  A keeper, as you said.

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

Yes- That discussion helped me a lot. I still let Chester Graze.. But I like the 'it's the Poodle in your Doodle' thought. I don't worry as much when Chester doesn't eat all his  kibble (Acana). He definitely has more of an appitte when he has had a lot more exercise.

I am going to try Bruce Girl' s suggestions too.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

My Spud is a good weight, and really he eats what I think is a good meal every three days. He will  have a 1/2 cup here and there on those off days. No big deal.  That is all I leave for him in his dish. I am fortunate enough to be able to leave his dish down but I never keep it real full. Someone is home all day and night so we watch. I am also fortunate that he is able to tell me it is time for a big meal. He SLAMS his bowl around like a toy. If he starts playing with the bowl or brings it to me, then I know  :)   One reason, I am afraid to give up this old plastic bowl. What am I going to do with a glass or metal bowl? Ugh.

My vet once explained, by nature, this is how they eat in the wild.  They don't go out and capture food each day and have a big meal.  Every few days they hunt and feast. Made sense to me.

He also has a sensitive stomach, so we make and serve only homemade liver treats. 

I never force him to eat and he is thriving. 

It is a relief in some ways as he never steals our food, never begs, but it was so strange as I was used to big giant dogs who SCARF down food as if it was the last and only meal they will ever have.

Serve food. Let it go. Watch the weight. Really, they do just fine with homemade treats and dog food.

P.S. we only give a few treats a day. Maybe.  Training or to call him out of the yard.  We do not give a lot.  I agree with Karen. Just serve food.  They eat when they are hungry

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is a perfect answer. Perfect way to look at feeding dogs.

[BG and Gavin]

Just a little more food for thought (get it?  "food"? okay sorry!)  I remember my breeder telling me that she has always been able to free feed her poodles but cannot do this with her retrievers.  The second thing is that it is easy to let dogs in the wild eat once every few days as is natural, however they don't have beige pile carpet in the wild.  As it is now we are cleaning up piles of highly staining yellow bile at least once a month.  If we did not ensure he ate and had a decent "snack" before bed I think we would be on cleaning duty several times a week.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is very true. Also, the dogs in the wild comparions sometimes lead to advice like "throw a hunk of raw meat out  in the yard for him and be done with it, lol."

But, people fast too, all the time. There are religious observances in many faiths for which people do not eat or drink anything for 24 hours with no ill effects. There are "cleansing diets". And we know that humans can and do survive for three weeks without food, as long as they have water. So I think it's important for everyone to know that a dog will not suffer any harm if he doesn't eat every meal every day, either.  

Also, not all poodles are picky. My last poodle wolfed down anything and everything and was extremely food motivated. JD is much pickier and less interested in food than she was.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Oh sure, the bile.  We had a lot of that.  White carpet with yellow spots. Lovely.  You could change your flooring to dirt and grass to be just like the wild or...   Just joking of course.

This is one reason why we leave the bowl down.  Strange, but Spud will get up on an occasion and take a bite or two in the middle of the night and come back to bed.  Kind of like a human with a few crackers just to settle the tummy.

I never could get him used to set meals at set times.  Thus, leave a small amount in the bowl.

This could be why we no longer have the yellow spotted carpet?  Never thought of it this way but I suppose the small amount in the bowl might be saving us.

I am more in favor of set meals but our method we have settled for, may be the best way and he has us trained according to his needs.   Wow, I learned something.  I'll never fight for set meals again with him.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

P.S. I am not saying my way is the best way because I don't think it is at all. But by thinking this through, I understand how Spud set us up for his style of eating. It worked. We were manipulated and it worked. Also, we now have a lot less of that dry hacking yellow bile in the am

[Bob Johnston]

Im sure its something you already tried but make the food taste like the jerky treats. either add the same spice or flavoring or grind up the jurkey and add it to the food. you dont need alot just enough to get the smell and that normally does it for my dogs. you could also make a gravy that is jerky flavored. take a veggie stock salt free add some jerky and boil until it reduces by 1/2 then thicken with a rue and put it over the food. most dogs will eventually give in and eat but if they have been spoiled food wise in the past they may be stubborn enough to not eat until it impairs them and when they finally do eat it may make them sick which will further make them not want to eat.